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Shock Wave (Virgil Flowers #5)

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 5,191 ratings · 521 reviews

A billion-dollar superstore has its sights set on a small Minnesota river town for its next outlet. Two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protests are ignored, until a bomb goes off at the megastore's Michigan headquarters--the first of a series of explosions. The bla...more

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Published October 4th 2011 by Penguin Group(CA) (first published January 1st 2011)

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Oct 02, 2011 Kemper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, 2011, 5-0, crime-mystery, bouchercon, virgil-flowers

Can we please find out what John Sandford is eating and put every other thriller writer on the same diet? It’s insane that over 30 books into his career the last two he’s done, Bad Blood and Buried Prey, were among his very best. Now he delivers another top-notch crime story in Shock Wave.

The small city of Butternut Falls, Minnesota, is an uproar over a new big box discount store called PyeMart being built. Someone decides to do more than write angry posts on the Internet and powerful bombs go...more Can we please find out what John Sandford is eating and put every other thriller writer on the same diet? It’s insane that over 30 books into his career the last two he’s done, Bad Blood and Buried Prey, were among his very best. Now he delivers another top-notch crime story in Shock Wave.

The small city of Butternut Falls, Minnesota, is an uproar over a new big box discount store called PyeMart being built. Someone decides to do more than write angry posts on the Internet and powerful bombs go off at PyeMart’s corporate headquarters and at the construction site in Butternut.

Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension sends agent Virgil (a/k/a ‘that fuckin’) Flowers to investigate. Virgil finds that there are plenty of suspects from the business owners who know they won’t be able to compete with PyeMart to angry environmentalists claiming that the store will pollute a nearby pristine creek and lake. There are also wide spread rumors that the city council got paid off to allow the store’s construction. As he hunts down the mad bomber Virgil will get tangled up in small town corruption and try a controversial experiment in identifying suspects.

While not quite up to the level of last year’s Bad Blood, this is still another terrific page turner from Sandford and continues the growth of Virgil from spin-off character from the Davenport Prey series into a fun and off-beat protagonist.

And I owe a big ‘Thank you!’ to Dan for this one. I attended the Bouchrcon convention and Dan joined me for a day where we saw the likes of Eion Colfer and Robert Crais, and also learned that eating a big lunch and drinking beer at an Irish pub will impede your ability to stay awake at the afternoon panels.

Dan got an ARC of this in the freebie bag full of books you got for registering. My jealously was instant and enormous. I am not proud of the way I threw myself on the ground and began kicking and screaming that it wasn’t fair. Dan quieted my tantrum by offering me a bottle of beer and generously giving me this book. So thanks, Dan!(less)

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Jan 30, 2012 Rick Fisher rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Im a little mixed on the newest Virgil Flowers novel by John Sandford. This is one of my fav authors and characters. Although the writing is onpoint, as usual and the dialogue is quick, witty and 100% Flowers, "Shock Wave" has one of the weakest plots Ive read in awhile. It lacked the detail and imagination I am used to from such an amazing author.
I can see the situation as being realistic and relevant in our socitey, but, nontheless, building a novel around it was a stretch.
Character compo...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: crime & thriller readers

Shelves: crime-thriller, fiction, library-book, read-in-2011

This is the 5th of Sandford's Virgil Flowers series. It's written with the same attention to plot detail as the Davenport "Prey" series but with a slightly lighter touch in spite of the murder and mayhem involved. An enjoyable "crime break" between more literary fare.

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Oct 28, 2011 Lee Gunter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There is no living author writing books who I look forward to reading like I look forward to reading John Sandford. If you want to develop a reading habit, pick up a John Sandford book. If you aspire to write, he is in my top five fiction writers of all time: the handful of men who use words the way Monet used paint and brushes.
This book is our fifth visit into the world of Virgil Flowers, one of the support cast in Sandford's 22 book and still going "Prey" series featuring Lucas Davenport.

Rea...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Teresa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-crime

JOHN SANFORD RARELY FAILS TO PLEASE AND THIS IS ANOTHER IN HIS LINE OF GREAT STORIES. VIRGIL FLOWERS (SECOND IN MY MIND ONLY TO LUCAS DAVENPORT) INVESTIGATES A SERIES OF SOMETIMES FATAL BOMBINGS RELATED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MEGA-STORE IN A SMALL MINNESOTA TOWN. LIKE ALL SANFORD BOOKS THIS ONE KEPT ME ENTERTAINED PARTIALLY BY THE TALE ITSELF AND PARTIALLY BY THE DELIGHTFUL PERSONALITY OF VIRGIL! SANFORD JUST HAS SUCH A TALENT FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. IF YOU ARE A SANFORD FAN, YOU KNOW WHAT...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Kevintipple rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Virgil Flowers returns in SHOCK WAVE and the read is a good one. This is the fifth novel of the series and this time he is chasing a bomber. Virgil is based in Mankato, Minnesota and therefore routinely covers the southern part of the state for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He also goes whether his boss, Lucas Davenport, sends him. Virgil has quite the reputation, not just with the ladies, and always gets the job done.

The latest bombing was of a construction trailer located at t...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Michelle Lancaster rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-ve-reviewed

A Virgil Flowers Novel
By John Sandford
Putnam 388 pgs
978-0-399-15769-1
Rating: Read This Book!

Virgil Flowers is back, our favorite shitkicker detective. This is the OK Corral: not only is he after the bad guys but he's cleaning up the town while he's at it.

Our story begins when a bomb explodes in a Michigan high rise housing the corporate headquarters of PyeMart, a builder of some sort of upscale Walmart things. Three weeks later another bomb explodes in Butternut Falls, Minnesota, at a PyeMart co...more A Virgil Flowers Novel
By John Sandford
Putnam 388 pgs
978-0-399-15769-1
Rating: Read This Book!

Virgil Flowers is back, our favorite shitkicker detective. This is the OK Corral: not only is he after the bad guys but he's cleaning up the town while he's at it.

Our story begins when a bomb explodes in a Michigan high rise housing the corporate headquarters of PyeMart, a builder of some sort of upscale Walmart things. Three weeks later another bomb explodes in Butternut Falls, Minnesota, at a PyeMart construction site. So the ATF shows up and requests assistance from the state of Minnesota and Lucas Davenport (of the Prey series fame) dispatches "that fuckin' Flowers" to investigate. Lest anyone object, this is a term of endearment and a running joke in Mr. Sandford's Prey and Virgil Flowers novels.

Our hero arrives and finds that everyone in town has an opinion on PyeMart, and almost everyone in town has a stake in the new store. The new store would provide jobs for the people of Butternut Falls. The store would put Butternut Falls merchants out of business from price competition. Some people need the new store for it's new utilities and city services west of town. Some people south of town, where the City originally planned to build, are going to lose big real estate money. When PyeMart came up for a vote in the city council, three members voted yay, three voted nay, and the mayor broke the tie with her yay. Now it seems a few of the people's representatives are skulking around town with a little extra money to spend.

Shock Wave is again a great John Sandford book, a pleasure to read. Just when you become complacent, appreciative but complacent, he serves up a different tale. The bad guy here is building bombs, not stabbing anyone to death or something, so there's a more technical investigation this time. Not as much "guns'a'blazin." I thought this book slowed in the middle but that may be because the author's books are usually more of a macho physical effort. Which I like. Very much. Anywho, Virgil breaks new BCA ground with cyber-sleuthing, and rest assured there are plenty of high explosives to go around. Another way Shock Wave diverges from the formula is that there is no romantic claptrap going on. Why do so many authors insist that the male cop has to fall in love with the female criminal who is beautiful but vulnerable, blah blah blah? Thank the Lord we don't have to do that again. The end is well-and deftly crafted, even elegant. So again I can confidently recommend a new John Sandford novel, Shock Wave. Enjoy!

If you're interested in John Sandford's other books this is the place to look: http://www.johnsandford.org/books.html

Fun extra and he's got this about 80% right: http://www.johnsandford.org/listofson...
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Jan 30, 2013 Ben Siems rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, here's the thing. I have an agreement with myself that I read any book I was given as a gift. It seems the right thing to do, karma-wise, given that someone took the trouble to go to a bookstore and pick something out with me in mind.

Overall, I would say this policy has been to the good over the years. It has resulted in my discovering a number of great books (e.g., Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, The Prophet) that I otherwise would never have thought to read. Once in a while,...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Tom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When duty calls him this time around, Virgil Flowers is drinking beer while watching large women play volleyball. Soon, he's packing up and headed for Butternut Falls, a small Minnesota town where things are exploding.

At issue is a new PyeMart super-store, being built outside town. A number of residents are less than thrilled with the idea, since the new store's presence will likely force many local merchants out of business. There are any number of Butternut Falls residents who would benefit f...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Robert J. Sullivan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Shock Wave” is John Sandford's fifth Virgil Flowers detective novel, a spin-off from his entertaining and successful “Prey” series. Flowers is a surfer/hippie roving investigator for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

A bomber is targeting the PyeMart Corporation, a big-box retailer that wipes out small retailers when it moves into an area. The first bomb goes off in the corporate boardroom of the company and the second hits the construction site of a new store being built in Buttern...more “Shock Wave” is John Sandford's fifth Virgil Flowers detective novel, a spin-off from his entertaining and successful “Prey” series. Flowers is a surfer/hippie roving investigator for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

A bomber is targeting the PyeMart Corporation, a big-box retailer that wipes out small retailers when it moves into an area. The first bomb goes off in the corporate boardroom of the company and the second hits the construction site of a new store being built in Butternut Falls. Flowers draws the case and is soon diving into small town politics, corruption, adultery, and greed, all the things that make small town living so enjoyable. There is no shortage of obvious suspects; the opposition to the store is vocal, particularly those that will lose their livelihoods, and the fishermen who believe the runoff will ruin the local trout stream.

Bombs keep going off, people die, Virgil talks to people, red herrings are dragged across the path and discarded, until Virgil identifies the bad guy twenty pages from the end of the book. Curtain.

The Flowers books are more mystery than thriller and to me, they share a lot with English cozy mysteries. Per Wikipedia, cozy mysteries “avoid ... explicit sex and violence, (have an) emphasis on puzzle-solving over suspense, a small-town setting, and a focus on a hobby or occupation are all frequent elements of cozy mysteries.” But there are bombings! People are blown to bits! Yeah, but after brief, grisly descriptions, they move on. Virgil throws one punch, the only violence done by the good guys. Instead of an isolated castle or a steamship going up the Nile, we have a small town in a sea of fields. Characters are introduced and we know one of them will be the murderer. Is it Professor Plum? Miss Scarlett? Colonel Mustard? As their secrets are uncovered, which of their motives is powerful enough to make the character turn to murder? Only our detective, with his eccentric habits and keen insight, can solve the problem.

I find I have little patience for this style of mystery. I can watch an Agatha Christie movie, but the books send me to the end looking for whodunnit before I'm 25 pages in. Edward Gorey wrote “The Awdrey-Gore Legacy”, lovingly skewering the genre. I recommend it.

I liked Virgil Flowers when I first encountered him. Sandford seemed to be writing about the flip side of Lucas Davenport of the “Prey” books: city mouse versus country mouse, likes guns versus can't find his (and can't shoot), tense suspense versus relaxed and sedentary. I wonder if Flowers is at a dead end. Davenport grows, changes, and ages, partly through changes in his job and partly through his relationships with continuing characters. With Flowers, the name of the small towns are different, and the characters change, but it's pretty much the same town. Flowers fishes, wears tee-shirts, and romances different women, but there's no growth and little change.

Sandford delivers a pleasant, professional story with delightful touches of humor, including a visit from the BCA's resident thugs, Shrake and Jenkins, but, as I said, it wasn't my favorite flavor. I give it 3 and 1/2 stars, rounded to 4 – I'll go back and read it again.

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Jun 07, 2012 Andreasoldier rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this on a rainy day when I should have been doing chores around the house.
I really like Sanford and am liking this f###ing Flowers more and more. This is his fifth solo outing since being introduced as Davenport's protege in the Prey series. Like his boss, Virgil is slightly eccentric and brilliant, but with fewer hard edges, less of a temper, and a stronger moral compass.
Virgil is drinking beer and watching bikini clad women play volleyball, when Davenport calls him in to investigate a...more

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May 05, 2012 James Thane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction

This is another very entertaining entry in John Sandford's Virgil Flowers series. Virgil is enjoying his day off, drinking beer and watching scantily-clad women play volleyball when some inconsiderate jerk sets off a bomb at a construction site in Butternut Falls, Minnesota, where PyeMart, a retail giant is building a new superstore. A couple of weeks earlier a bomb had exploded at the company's headquarters in Michigan, killing a secretary and nearly wiping out the company's CEO and board of di...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Mal Warwick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another Worthy Crime Novel from John Sandford

Virgil Flowers considers himself a “shitkicker” and tends to dress, talk, and act like one, favoring T-shirts from rock bands, cowboy boots, fly fishing, fast motorboats, and, shall we say, casual language. Here he is in conversation with one of his suspects in Shock Wave, a trade school instructor:

Virgil: “So, where you at?”

Suspect: “You don’t need the ‘at’ at the end of that sentence. If you’d asked, ‘Where are you?’ that would have been fine.”

Virgi...more Another Worthy Crime Novel from John Sandford

Virgil Flowers considers himself a “shitkicker” and tends to dress, talk, and act like one, favoring T-shirts from rock bands, cowboy boots, fly fishing, fast motorboats, and, shall we say, casual language. Here he is in conversation with one of his suspects in Shock Wave, a trade school instructor:

Virgil: “So, where you at?”

Suspect: “You don’t need the ‘at’ at the end of that sentence. If you’d asked, ‘Where are you?’ that would have been fine.”

Virgil: “I’m colloquial.”

Virgil sometimes uses words like “colloquial” because, in reality, he has a college degree (in ecological science) and a scary-high IQ, and, though everyone seems to comment that he looks nothing like a cop, he is the most successful detective in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprensioin (BCA).

In Shock Wave, the fifth in John Sanders’ Virgil Flowers series, Virgil is sent to investigate a fatal bombing at the site of a future big-box store that is carefully positioned not to be a Wal-Mart even though it clearly is. There, he encounters the founder of the Wal-Mart-like chain, an irascible old man with a million-dollar secretary and $32 billion net work, along with the mayor and members of the city council of a small town in the far reaches of Minnesota. As the novel’s first bombing is followed by a second and then, in quick succession, another, Virgil and the local sherrif race to identify the bomber — and, along the way, come to grips with the corruption on the city council that gave the green light for the store to be built.

John Sandford is a master of novels like this. In addition to the Virgil Flowers series, he has published 21 entries in the “Prey” series featuring Virgil’s boss, Lucas Davenport, 4 more in another short-lived crime series, plus two unrelated novels and a couple of nonfiction books as well — starting in 1988. If your skills run more to language than to mathematics, please note that Sandford (a pseudonym for a former Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist) has been writing an average of about 1-1/2 books per year. Others are more prolific, but Sandford’s plots are invariably inventive, his characters three-dimensional, and his prose eminently readable.

(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)(less)

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Nov 11, 2011 Mike Nettleton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When that ‘effing Flowers (as his peers in the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension refer to him) is sent to the small Minnesota community of Butternut Falls to investigate a serial bomber, it becomes personal in a hurry for Virgil. Innocent people are dying in what looks like a crusade to prevent a mega-store from opening. Angry and hostile opponents claim it will decimate the small business community and pollute the nearby fertile fishing streams. Virgil Flowers has to use his charm, wit and invest...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a great book! John Sandford delivers another winner starring Virgil Flowers. When several bombs explode and kill people working for the giant box store Pyemart, Davenport sends Virgil to Butternut Falls to figure out who the bomber is before anyone else dies. Virgil is on vacation and really doesn't want to get involved in a lengthy investigation, but heads out to Butternut Falls towing his fishing boat. It turns out there are many suspects, as both the local small business owners and trout...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-audio-books, 2011-mysteries

Shock Wave, by John Sandford, A-minus, Narrated by Eric Conger, Produced by Penguin Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

This is the newest Virgil Flowers novel. The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. There are also people who want the state to investigate whether or not the city council and mayor were bribed to allow t...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Bruce Snell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is book 5 in the Virgil Flowers series by John Sanders. Virgil is assigned to investigate a bombing and murder at the construction site of a new Pye Mart store in Butternut Falls, MN. As he starts his investigation into that murder, Virgil learns of a previous bombing/murder at the company headquarters several days earlier. Over the course of the next few days three more bombing incidents happen; one at the county construction yard, taking out pipe and construction equipment; one under the...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: criminal-mystery

I am a big fan of the Prey series and I have always enjoyed it more than the Virgil Flowers series. But this latest entry--Shock Wave--was a good book. I thought it was better than average--three and a half stars. My biggest complaint is that the investigation at the beginning starts out slow and crawls along for half the book. The story does not really take off until the two thirds mark. But from there, it grew very exciting and kept me guessing. I like Virgil. He is not desensitized to violenc...more

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May 06, 2012 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I feel so ashamed that I missed that this came out and I didn't read it right away. I'm losing my touch.

Another f*ckin' Flowers book. Virgil is really holding his own now. Davenport was barely in here at all. Flowers is growing into his own and really impressing me.

PyeMart is being built in Butternut, MN and it's making lots of people angry. We start off with a bomb exploding at the headquarters of PyeMart in MI, with the apparent attempt to take out the board of directors. Instead, it ends up k...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 110-books-in-2012-and-do-it-again, mystery, new-york-times-best-seller, read-in-2012, reviewed, series

Two corporate bombings make the authorities call in top investigator, Virgil Flowers, to find the bomber.

There is animosity toward PyeMart, a Wallmart type of corporation. Many people in Butternut Falls, Minnesota, are bitter about the corporation. Some feel that the corporation will hurt their businesses and others that it will hurt the environment by adding pollutants to the water.

As the story unfolds, we see that Virgil is a nonchalant investigator. He's humorous and brings his own love of fi...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Kaje Harper rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoy John Sandford's mysteries. They are clever, well written, plot-driven stories. The main characters are engaging, but for me not so absorbing that I fall into deep identification with them. (This is even more true of Virgil Flowers than of Davenport in the Prey series.) Conversations are a little dry, witty and sardonic. There is a fair bit of mayhem, but at enough remove that it isn't really disturbing. The coolness works well but is also probably the thing that makes these reliab...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Michelle (meshe) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read this one while I was at the beach. Didn't take the time to do the review. Oh boy, why do I do that? I love John Sandford. The Lucas Davenport Prey series is one of the best series out there and is a must read for me. Virgil Flowers had made some appearances there and he's a great character. This series is almost as good.
There's a huge mega store coming to town and not everybody is happy. There are the towns people who are probably going to go bankrupt and lose their businesses. There are th...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Linda added it · review of another edition

Indisputably, one of my favorite mystery writers, John Sandford, has given his second- banana detective, Virgil Flowers, this one. Virgil usually plays a lesser role to the first-banana detective in these books, Lucas Davenport. It is kind of hard to decide who you like best, but I'll take Flowers. He speaks in short sentences, many of them Oscar Wilde worthy. He wears worn "band" t-shirts that many times become conversation starters with the attractive chickies that he occasionally beds. I thin...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Mysterious Ed rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: law-enforcement

#5 in the Virgil Flowers. Despite the differences between the Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport series, the appearance of Virgil Flowers as a series lead character allows John Sandford to issue two Lucas Davenport-like series a year. I'm not complaining, even a relatively forgettable entry like this one would be welcome more often then twice a year.

Virgil Flowers series - When a bomb kills in Butternut Falls, a small community divided over the imminent arrival of a PyeMart megastore, Virgil get...more

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May 10, 2012 Harvey Burgess rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John Sandford's rugged and reliable Virgil Flowers is fast becoming one of the stars of the mystery universe, close to eclipsing even his boss, Lucas Davenport, as Sandford's most readable character. In 'Shock Wave' Virgil is called to the town of Butternut Falls when someone sets off a bomb at the construction site of a mostly-unwanted discount chain store. The blast comes after another bomb has already been triggered at the company's national headquarters and investigators believe a serial bom...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was an audiobook listen for me. I have been a big fan of John Sandford for many many years. Mr Sandford writes consistently great books. His characters are interesting and the stories draw you in. I enjoyed this book and look forward to more Virgil Flowers novels.

The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protest...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just finished "Shock Wave" by John Sandford. I've been a longtime fan of Sandford and his Prey novels featuring Lucas Davenport, but this was my first exposure to Virgil Flowers. In this, the fifth Flowers novel, Virgil is enlisted to find the mastermind behind a series of bombs that have been set off in a small Minnesota town. The mystery bomber hopes to dissuade Willard Pye from constructing one of his megastores in the local community. Virgil finds many suspects with motive, from environmen...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Mike Tueros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sandford's latest installment of the Virgil Flowers series, which in my opinion is currently better than (gasp!) the Davenport series. Flowers is an instantly likeable character and has the trademark wit and street smarts that Davenport used to flaunt. In Shock Wave, Flowers is sent to investigate multiple bombings in the small town of Butternut Falls. A major retailer PyeMart (think WalMart, but nicer) is set to build in the town and several people have motive to ensure this doesn't happen. Pye...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Giovanni Gelati rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Virgil Flowers is one of my favorite characters and I love what he does in this , the fifth, stand alone. He is very much Virgil, but a different side of him, more introspective, a bit deeper, more thought out , and definitely a ton of fun. The backdrop to all this is something most readers can appreciate: the angst behind a huge mega store coming in and crushing a community and its businesses. Using that, John Sandford again hits all the right notes and takes us the reader on nice wild ride .Th...more

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May 04, 2013 Tim Healy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoy Sandford's Prey novels, but I have to tell you that I really like Virgil Flowers as a character. He's quirkier than Davenport, and I think not quite as scary. Lucas can be a little bit too much.

This probably isn't as good as the last entry in this series, Bad Blood, but it's still fun. This one twists and turns as the story unfolds in ways that made it kind of fun to see if you could play along. Virgil even does a bit of a "Sherlock Holmes" routine, at one point, to break the case open.

A...more

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About John Sandford

John Sandford was born John Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He was in th...more

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“The press conference was held in a courtroom at the new county courthouse, a space that did its best to translate justice into laminated wood.” — 2 people liked it

“Nuts don’t come in bunches. Only grapes do.” — 1 person liked it

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